


Rekindled

by CourierNinetyTwo



Category: Persona 5, Persona Series
Genre: F/M, Hurt/Comfort, Trans Male Character
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-23
Updated: 2019-04-23
Packaged: 2020-01-25 14:13:11
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,531
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18576121
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CourierNinetyTwo/pseuds/CourierNinetyTwo
Summary: After a fight in Mementos goes sour, the fire inside Ann burns too bright to stand.





	Rekindled

**Author's Note:**

> For sailorscooby!

Everything in the Mementos fight went wrong.

Akira went down first, which never happened. Ann was used to him flaunting his way across the battlefield, dodging attacks with a laugh as blue fire surged around his mask. In a blink, he'd summon a new Persona, and crush whatever Shadow dared to get too close.

Not this time. They had been ambushed from behind after a fight against this Reaper-like _something_ , and Morgana was still breathing out anxious exhaust when a new pack of enemies fell on them like hungry wolves.

Carmen saved her from the first strike, but Akira hadn't been so lucky, because whatever these Shadows were packing tore his first Persona to pieces. When he fell, Ann immediately went to heal him, only to see them turn on Ryuji. The second Captain Kidd's lightning bounced off shifting wisps of darkness and the Shadows moved in for the kill, she saw red.

Fire exploded from Carmen in a relentless, white-hot burst, torching each and every one of them in a column of flame. It took all she had, but the Shadows crumbled to ash, leaving nothing behind but a little pile of black-edged yen.

"Panther!" Morgana rolled up to her, tires screeching against the floor. "Are you okay? Is Joker-!"

Ryuji got to his feet with a groan, dazed. At first glance, he looked fine except for some bumps and bruises, but Akira was out cold. Ann checked his pulse, overwhelmed with relief that it beat steady, but Carmen gave her a knowing look over the spectral smoke of her cigar.

"I can't wake him up," she confessed, half under her breath. "We used all those soul drop things fighting that Reaper."

"And Captain Kidd don't heal," Ryuji said, guilt tightening his voice. "Let's get back to the front and call Queen."

The drive back up grated on Ann's nerves. Every bump against twisted train tracks made her tense, feeding another coal to the fire of her anger. Some of it was justified, of course; those Shadows deserved exactly what they got--but the rest turned inward, knowing she had the power to help, but simply couldn't.

A gloved hand gave her knee a light squeeze: Ryuji. "He'll be okay. We've been down and out before."

"I know, but I know how to..." Ann huffed, then shook her head. "Feeling helpless really messes me up these days."

Even behind his mask, sympathy shone in Ryuji's eyes. They had both been cornered too many times to count, and it was only in these last few months that either one of them could do anything about it.

Ann almost slipped out of her seat when Morgana put on the brakes, flinging his doors open. Makoto and Haru were both there on Johanna, worry written all over their faces. The former threw herself off the bike, making a beeline for Akira, slumped against his seatbelt in the front.

"Are you two alright?" Haru asked, breezing through the silence as Makoto focused on their leader. "From what Mona said, it sounded pretty bad."

Ann's jaw tightened. They had won, but it didn't feel like it. No one in the room deserved her anger either, so there was nowhere for the fire to go. She wanted it out, wanted the blaze to cut through the fear she felt like an impossibly sharp sword.

"You should probably ask Oracle for the headlines," Ryuji answered, shrugging. "I was being zapped by my own guy for half of it."

Without a second thought, Ann spun on her heel and started to walk away. She heard Haru's curious question as to why, but couldn't summon an answer. Her eyes stayed on the darkness, habit guiding her through rusted turnstiles and cracked floors.

When she was alone, it was easier to breathe. The whispers of Mementos were almost silent up here, and Ann focused on slow inhales and exhales until the hammering of her heart stopped echoing through her entire body.

"Hey." Ryuji's voice carried through the shadows. "If you want to be by yourself, I get it, but you got me kind of worried."

If it had been anyone else, she would have told them to buzz off. Ryuji understood her, though, knew her in too many ways to count. "I'm just pissed at myself. Half the time we're down here, I feel invincible. It's like the world can't stop us, but then..."

"It gets too real?" His footsteps got closer, their pace slightly uneven. "Is there anything I can do?"

Ann turned towards Ryuji's voice, stepped close enough to feel his breath. She brought her hands up to cup his face, to feel it warm and alive between both palms. "Prove that you're still here."

She kissed him, hard. It was far from the first time, although Ann remembered their fumbling starts with amusement, trying to figure out the truth from television shows and magazines. Ryuji answered with a groan, mouth parting to let her in.

"You're not too beat up for this, are you?" she mumbled against his lips. "Because I can wait."

Ryuji's firm grip on her hips, pulling them forward, gave Ann the only answer she needed.

She backed him up against the closest wall, one kiss melting into another. Each one was rough and quick, the press of teeth making Ann shudder as her hands found Ryuji's shoulders. As his touch wandered across her body, the fire twisting inside her delved lower, becoming a different kind of heat.

"Get this damn thing off me," Ann said, encouraging Ryuji's fingers to the zipper at the front of her suit.

"All the way?" he asked.

Part of her was tempted, but they really couldn't. Once Akira was up and awake, he was sure to wonder where they were, and no one else knew about-- _this_. Ann had never given it a name, only accepted that sometimes people have sex with their best friends, and it felt great, and maybe thinking too hard about it was just asking for trouble.

"Just the front," she finally managed to answer, giving Ryuji's shoulders a firm push down. "Go lower."

He did, and they fell together, slow and controlled. With the adrenaline from the fight fading, Ann didn't want to worry about staying balanced on her heels when she could be on her knees instead.

Ryuji's mouth offered hot, tight relief to each of her breasts, sucking each one into his mouth until she moaned. The soft leather of his gloves tapering down her ribs drew out a shiver, and Ann sank her fingers into short blonde hair to find a good grip.

She remembered helping Ryuji cut it short, all the fluffy little spikes that stuck out from every side of his head. He had grown into it, just like he'd grown into bleaching his hair, making them match in a way Ann never expected. It must have been hard for him to stand out more, but if it was going to happen anyway, why not make everyone look?

"Get on your back," she ordered, breathless, "and take that damn zipper with you."

Ann felt Ryuji's muffled laugh against her stomach, and smiled to herself before he exposed her the rest of the way, the slick heat between her thighs striking in contrast to the cool air of the room. She bit her lip, a throb of need echoing the sensation, and pulled Ryuji exactly where she needed him the most.

He nosed against blonde curls and breathed in deep. The groan of desire that escaped Ryuji's throat climbed up Ann's entire body like a bolt of lightning, shocking but incredibly powerful. This felt like power; her hands in his hair, the way Ryuji gripped her from behind like he couldn't stand for her to slip even an inch away.

The first press of his tongue was exploratory, seeking out her folds and parting them with firm strokes. There were times that they spent hours curled up in her sheets and learning each other--as much as Ann didn't like her parents always traveling, she did take advantage of it--but there was no room for patience here when she burned with this kind of intensity. Everything threatened to boil over, burst into a conflagration, unless something took the pressure off.

Ryuji traded one tension for another by swiping his tongue directly against her clit, and Ann gasped sharply. Her hips pushed down against his mouth, seeking more, and was rewarded by a firm suck that made her see stars. Ann felt another coil of pleasure wrap tight around her as Ryuji licked and kissed down to her entrance, tongue delving against that sensitive edge with firm but shallow thrusts.

"Fuck," Ann muttered under her breath, and swore Ryuji smiled against her, pleased with himself. She couldn't fault him for that, as long as he didn't stop.

Thankfully for her rapidly waning patience, he didn't. The subtle push of Ann's hips became a more insistent grind, riding Ryuji's mouth and the flat of his tongue, more desperate sounds escaping her throat when she found the perfect angle between his face and the swell of her clit. Every pulse of pleasure spiked through her, sharp with need, cutting through all the noise in her head until there was nothing but bliss.

She freed one hand to clap over her mouth before she came, not trusting that she'd be quiet enough. Sound carried through Mementos' twisting routes in a thousand weird ways, and the last thing either of them needed was a startled Morgana mounting a rescue mission. Ann moaned against her palm as one wave of ecstasy crashed into another, every muscle in her thighs trembling as Ryuji kept his tongue moving, swift and relentless.

"Okay, okay." Ann coaxed him away with a softer touch, brushing the wild part she'd molded into Ryuji's hair back into his usual spikes. "You know, you're way too good at that."

"It's 'cause I got a smart mouth," Ryuji answered with a grin, laying his head back against the floor. His lips shone with her, wonderfully shameless. "Least, that's probably part of it."

"Yeah, that's part of it," she teased, moving her body down his until they were face to face again.

The fire wasn't gone, but it was bearable now. Ann kissed him again, and he arched up into her, chest to hips. She kissed Ryuji until the only thing she could taste was his lips, chasing every ragged gasp that trembled its way up his throat. One hand slid smooth down Ryuji's chest, past the ammo belt draped heavy around his waist, and pressed firm between his legs.

"Goddamn," Ryuji choked out, jerking up against her palm by reflex. "A little harder than that."

Ann knew the kind of friction he liked, and stayed right in line with the heat radiating through Ryuji's pants, practically pulsing through the leather. Every up and down stroke drew out another low noise between clenched teeth until Ryuji clutched at her shoulders, trying to steady himself and find words again.

"Gimme your thigh," he said, parting his knees wider in invitation.

Without a word, Ann shifted positions, bringing her leg in place of where her hand just was, giving Ryuji a nice broad surface to grind himself against. She brought her body down against his, rocking into the movement with her elbows on either side of his masked face. It was rough but easy, so easy to fall into the pleasure leaving Ryuji's jaw slack, eyes dark with desire as he ached, _ached_ for her.

The moment he let go, Ann kissed him one more time, swallowing the curse that left Ryuji's lips as he thrashed underneath her. He was anchored in place by her thigh, taking in every second of sweet friction until it spilled into pure relief.

By the end of it, both of them were breathing hard, the edges of their masks pressed together as Ann held Ryuji's gaze. With shaking hands, he wrapped his arms around her back, squeezing in a tight hug.

"You okay?" Ryuji asked.

"Better." Way better, considering she'd been half-tempted to let Carmen scorch the whole floor of this place. Luckily, neither of them had the energy for that, and Ryuji had dared to chase her down before things got worse. "You're the best."

A lot of people called him stubborn or stupid, but deep down, Ann knew how smart he could be. Just because Ryuji didn't hang fancy words on everything didn't mean he couldn't understand when someone was hurting.

"Eh, I'm something." He laughed, and stretched underneath her.

When Ryuji winced, Ann's mouth tightened into a thin line, taut with concern. "Want me to rub you down before we head back?"

A rush of warmth painted his face pink, the edges of it visible behind the skull. "You don't gotta."

"That's not a no," Ann muttered, giving the nose of his mask a brief poke. "You took care of me. Let me take care of you."

"Alright." A grin pulled at the edge of Ryuji's mouth. "But I want it said for the record that you definitely took care of me already."

This time Ann blushed, sticking out her tongue at him before she moved to sit back down between Ryuji's legs. She framed his knee between her hands, setting her thumbs around where she knew the scar tissue got particularly stiff. It would never break up and heal completely, but at least this meant it wouldn't be so painful to walk around on.

"Ow," Ryuji grunted, even as his leg started to relax. "Okay, it might have been worse than I thought."

"We beat a Reaper into paste before you got shocked within an inch of your life and we ran away," Ann said, idle and nonjudgmental. "So just breathe. I've got you."

Bit by bit, she worked away the worst of the tension. When Ryuji could flex his leg without flinching, Ann got to her feet and offered him a hand. Once they were both standing, he flashed a cheeky smile her way.

One gloved finger gestured to her chest. "You, uh, might want to zip up."

"Oh, god," Ann muttered, immediately reaching for the zipper and yanking it back into place. She'd been so distracted by him, she'd forgotten about the state of her outfit entirely. "Thanks for that."

Ryuji chuckled. "You're welcome."

A faint buzzing in the back of Ann's ear warned her that Futaba was about to reach out with Necronomicon: good timing. "Heyo! You guys ready to head home? Because Joker's up and he's craving ramen."

That meant he was just fine. The last of the flame still smoldering in Ann's chest finally doused itself. "Yeah. We can go whenever."

"Sweet! Head over to the entrance and we'll drop the masks, because I am soooooo hungry," Futaba said, and the buzzing vanished like a line was cut.

The moment Ann was sure Oracle couldn't be watching, she took a step forward and gave Ryuji one more kiss. "Want to crash at my place after ramen?"

He smiled against her lips. "Hell yeah."

Good. She always slept better when he stayed.

\--


End file.
